Vicinity Energy, the largest district energy provider in the United States, has begun building a 35 MW river-based industrial heat pump complex at its Kendall Square facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The complex will use renewable energy to harvest heat from the Charles River that will go towards the production of carbon-free steam for delivery across Vicinity’s 29-mile district energy network.
Construction is scheduled to continue through 2028. Once complete, the installation will have the capacity to heat more than 70 m3 of building space, according to a statement from Vicinity. The emissions-free heat pump is replacing a natural gas boiler, with demolition already underway.
The project is being developed in collaboration with German manufacturer Everllence, which is providing the heat pump technology, alongside development company DCO Energy, which will oversee installation and balance-of-plant modifications.
Vicinity is also planning to install thermal storage technologies capable of producing the company’s on-demand steam it refers to as eSteam, using renewable electricity.
The company says the net impact of the project is multifaceted. While customers are set to gain access to carbon-free thermal energy, the Charles River ecosystem will benefit from reduced temperatures and citizens of Boston and Cambridge will benefit from significantly cleaner air.
Vicinity has set a target of achieving net zero emissions in the Greater Boston area by 2050. The company’s CEO, Kevin Hagerty, said that this project makes the vision of decarbonizing cities at scale a reality. “We are establishing the blueprint of how to decarbonize a U.S. city and will be installing similar innovative electrification technologies at our district energy systems across 12 U.S. cities,” Hagerty added.
Vicinity has already installed a 42 MW electric boiler at its Kendall facility, which provides carbon-free thermal energy to its partners in Boston via steam piping that runs underneath the city.
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